Feynmann

Feynmann, usually spelled Feynman, refers most often to Richard P. Feynman, an American theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to quantum electrodynamics and to the broader understanding of interactions between light and matter.

Born in New York City in 1918, Feynman studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned his PhD at Princeton University under John Archibald Wheeler. During World War II he contributed to the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, where his work helped advance nuclear research. After the war he joined the faculty at the California Institute of Technology, where he developed the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics and introduced Feynman diagrams, graphical tools that simplified the calculations of particle interactions in quantum field theory.

In 1965, Feynman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, shared with Sin-Itiro Tomonaga and Julian Schwinger, for fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics and the development of field theory methods that describe how light and matter interact. Beyond research, he became a celebrated teacher and popularizer of science, writing books and giving lectures that clarified complex topics for general audiences. Notable works include Lectures on Physics, The Feynman Lectures on Physics (with volumes spanning introductory and advanced material), and popular science books such as Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

Feynman was also a member of the Rogers Commission that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, where he emphasized rigorous engineering practices and transparent inquiry. He died in 1988 after a battle with cancer, leaving a lasting legacy in both theoretical physics and science communication.